By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
Cebu Pacific (CEB), the country’s leading carrier, continues to boost inter-island connectivity by expanding its Visayas and Mindanao network with 18 new routes.
“Visayas and Mindanao serve as gateways to the world’s most beautiful beaches, colorful festivals, and vibrant cultures,” said Candice Iyog, CEB Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, during a stakeholder event in Iloilo City on Monday.
Iyog highlighted that these new routes will strengthen CEB’s hubs outside Manila, generating economic opportunities and supporting the country’s growth agenda.
By December, CEB will operate 73 routes serving Visayas and Mindanao, including new routes from its Iloilo, Davao, Cebu, and Clark hubs. This expansion also covers the resumption and addition of international flights to destinations across Asia.
For Iloilo International Airport, the Iloilo-Hong Kong route will operate four times weekly starting October 27, while the Iloilo-Singapore route will have thrice-weekly flights beginning November 27.
CEB also announced new domestic flights from Iloilo to Tacloban and Zamboanga, both starting on October 27.
Iyog emphasized that the expansion will increase CEB’s capacity for Visayas and Mindanao flights to 2.1 million seats from 1.4 million by January 2024, with the number of flights rising to an average of 12,000 across the network.
In Iloilo, the number of seats will see a 67% increase, from 160,000 in January 2024 to 178,000 by the end of the year. The flight count is projected to climb 54%, from 552 in January to 851 by December 2024.
To support this growth, CEB plans to receive a total of 18 aircraft this year, 11 of which have already arrived. The airline aims to have a fleet of 95 aircraft by the end of 2024.
Additionally, CEB has placed an order for up to 152 aircraft from Airbus, the largest aircraft order in Philippine aviation history, with deliveries set to begin by 2029.
Iyog said the purchase agreement for this order is expected to be finalized by the third quarter of this year.
According to the International Air Transport Association, every job in the air transport industry supports 29 other jobs in tourism, supply chains, and related sectors.
This means that with Cebu Pacific deploying up to 128 pilots and cabin crew to manage its new aircraft this year, more than 3,700 jobs will be created.
CEB currently operates 35 domestic and 26 international destinations across Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
As the country’s leading airline, it holds a 54% market share, operating 94 active routes with an average of 2,600 weekly flights this September.
